Traveling irrigator.



J. G. SEARLE.

TRAVBLXNG IRBIGATOR.

APPLxoATIoN num man, 1913.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

LlOYJlQ.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ATTORNEYS J. C. SEARLE.

` TRAVELING IRRIGATOB.

APPLIoATIoN FILED Aus. '1, ma.

Patented Aug. 1l, 1914.

5 BHEETB-BHEET 2.

INVENTH WIT/VESSES M M, y a N M J miam/frs J. C. SEARLE.

TRAVELING IRBIGATOR.

, ArPLIoATloN FILED AUG. 7, 191s. l ,1 9, Patelld Allg. 11, 1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ATTORNEYS J. C. SEARLE.

TRAVBLNG IRRIGATOR.

@PPLIOATION FILED AUG. 7,v 1913.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

.lill-1 JOHN 'coorrn ssamm,

VPATEN T OFFICE.

0F LALAMILO, TERRITORY 0F HAWAII.

TRAVELING marcaron..

Specication of Letters Patent. Application lfiled August 7,1913. Serial N 0. 783,605.

Patented. Aug.11, 1914.

To all 'whom 'it may concern Be itknown that I, JOHN C. SEARLE, a citizehfof the United States, anda resident ofLala'lnilo, in the county of Hawaii, Territory of Hawaii', have invented a new and following is a lfull, clear', tion'. y This invention relates to Water distribution and has ing devices. i l

Among the primary. objects of this 1nvention 1s to provide a machine, preferably of a self-propelled nature, which is adapted to draw or receive v'v'ater from a ditch While progressing along or over the same the machine being provided with pumps or other suitable machinery whereby the Water will and exact descrip- `be 'elevated'and distributed over a Wide por-v tion lof land 'on'either or both sides of the machine while in transit.

`The inventionl also includes a number of valuable details of `construction which Will render 'the machine reliable and eiiicient in practical operation.

The foregoing and other 'objects of the invention Will'hereinafter be more fully. de*

scribed 'and claimed and illustrated in the drav'vings forming a part of this specifica tion in which like characters of reference indica-te corresponding parts in all the `viei'vs,vand 1n Wh1ch-l Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the machinein operative position; Fig. le is a detail of' one o f the sprinkling nozzles; Fig. 2 is a planl View, partly in section, substantially on the line 2 2 of Fig. 4, the tower portion, however., not being shown; Fig. 3

. is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig.

2; Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the main portion of the machine; and Fig. 5 is a sectional vieW on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, show ing the tower in its relation to the main frame and the manner of adjusting it vertically. .f The several ,parts of the ldevice may be I nade ofvany suitable materials, andthe relativesizes andproportions and .various details of construction may `be varied to a considerable extent without departing from the inventionl hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In carrying outthis invention in a practical embodiment, 'I provide any suitable number of ditches 10 having' asubstantiall y level contour' Which-Will receive Water from is adapted to be drawn orpropelled alongside of or astride ofthisI ditch or the several 1 ditches; turn so therefrom' and distribute it. Improved Traveling Irrigator, of which the as' to receive'the Water The machine comprises any suitable form of main frame` 11 having upright corner i pieces 12 a'ndsupportedupon suitab e tracvtion devices herein shoWnas of the cater. particular' reference to irrigat-4 i pillar type including an endless traction belt 13 on eachA side; Each belt is supported upon a. series of rollers 14 and 15, the vlatter* being the driving sprocket for the belts. Each Wheel 15 is mounted upon al driving axle 16 to which is connected achain 17 operating over a driving pinion 18 adapted to be clutched to the end of a driving shaft 19 by means of a clutch 20. The clutches 20 are adapted to be operated independently of each other by means vof any suitable mechanism herein illustrated as including a bell crank 21 and a. connecting rod 22. The front ends of said rods are connected .to bell cranks 23 mounted upon rock shafts 24 and 25 adjacent the front end' of themachine and said rock shafts are controlled by hand levers 22a and 22h lwithin easy reach of the operator. By operating these levers in controlling the clutches independentlyof each other, the machine may be steered by causing one of the traction belts to operate faster than the other. The 'caterpillar type of traction devices is employed preferably because of the facility with which' it may pass over loose or Wet soil Without' excessive danger of damaging the roadway or the construction of the ditch. 7

At 26 -I show a suitable type of motor which may be used not only to propel the machine but also to operate the pumps and other operating devices. The main rotary shaft 27 extents rearwardly from the motor and 4is providedon' its rear end with a beveled pinion 28 4adapted toI mesh with either of the gears 29 connect-ed to a sleeve 30 splined tothe driven shaft 19'. The space between said gears 29 is also sufficient for them to be held in neutral position With the pinion 28 out of mesh with both of them. The sleeve and attached gears are shiftable along the shaft 19 `by means of a yyoke 31 to which is connected a rack 32 in mesh with a. pinion 33 connected to a shaft 34. At the front end of said shaft are arranged miter gears 35 one of which is connected to a rock shaft having a crank 36 connected .to

.a control lever 37 -b means of a rod 38. Said lever 37 is pre erably ]ournaled upon the aforesaid rock shaft 24 and also within easy reach of the operator. B y-me'ans of the lever37 the operator may shift the gears 29 Ivso as to vcause the machine to be propelled either forwardly or rearwardly or be held stationary, without interfering with the operationof the motor. y 19 AAt 39 I show any suitable formof power pump, the. drawings ind1catmg a centrifugal pump mounted. upon a shaft 40 to which are connected fixed andloosepulleys 41 and 42. Abelt 43 driven fromra pulley 44 is adapted tooperate over said pulleys and through the fixed pulley 41. and drivethe pump at high speed. "I he` pulley 44 is connected to a shaft 45-tc which is connected a bevel gear 46 driven from a oorrespondinggea'r 47` secured to the engine4 shaft 27 Thel pulley 44 and belt 43, therefore, will be operated whenever the engine shaft is rotated, and if the operator desires the pump to be put in motion he will shift-the belt 43 from the loose pulley 42 `tothe fixed pulley 41. Any suitable Vmeans may be employed to effect such shifting of ,the'belt., I show for this purpose a yoke 48 connected to a bell crank 49 pivoted at 5 0 to the main frame. To the other end of said bell crankfis connected a rod 51 yadapted to be reciprocated by means kof a hand lever 52 connected to a sleeve 53 mounted upon the rock shaft 24 and provided with a crank 55 to which said rod 51 is connected.

r-Any suitable connections maybe employed for the purposeof drawing the water from the ditch `and delivering it into and throughy the pump 39. As an illustration of suitable means I show a shoe 56 .adapted to glide along the bottom of the ditch and receive water into its interior through a series of holes 57. at its top, and the water may be drawn from the interior of the shoe through any suitable number of flexible arms or hose connections 58 leading up to a head 59 suit- 'ably supported upon the frame and in communication with the pump through a neck 60. The pump may be-provided with a funnel 61 controlled by a valve 62 for the purpose o-f priming it. The discharge pipe 63 for they pump leads preferably vertically and` has at its upper end a stuffing box 64 providing slidable .connection with a vertically movingpipe 65 having at its upper end a T- head 66. Said T-head is maintained in any suitable elevated position by means of a bridge 67 connected to a vertically adjustable tower including a base 68 and uprights 69, and has a pressure dome 66a at its top. .y The elevation of the tower may be performed or controlled by means of .a hand wheel 70 connected to a shaft 71 journaled in bearings 72 in said base 68 and having a pair of worms 73 and 74 secured adjacent its 65 ends and meshing with worm wheels 73 and 74 respectively. Said worm wheels are mounted upon transverse horizontal shafts 75 havinghpinions 76 at their ends adapted to mesh wit and operate along rack teeth 12 formed on the uprights 12 ofthe main 70 frame. The hand wheel 70 is within easy reach of the operator and when turned in either direction the elevator Will be caused to be lifted or lowered accordingly. When,

however, the hand wheel4 is left 1n idle posi- 75 tion, the worms 73 and 74 will hold the worm wheels 7 3" and 74 from rotating and hence will insure that the elevator willl be maintained` in any desired position. p"

I provide any suitable number of tubular arms 77 shown herein as two in number and connected at their inner ends to said T-head 66 0f the vertically movable pipe connection. Each of said arms 77 has an elbow 78 at its inner end havingl swiveled connectiony by means of a stuffing' box 79 with said T-head. This provides for the vertically swinging movement of the arms 77 as suggested in dotted lines in Fig. 1, which may be desirable in many cases as, for instance, when operating along hillsides or for turning or transportation purposes. Each of these arms 77 is preferably tapered so as to make its outer end lighter in proportion to its inner end and also to provide that a substantially even distribution of water may be had throughout the entire length of the arm. A series of guys 80 are connected to the arms at intervals by-means of collars 81 and the upper or inner ends of said guys are connected to a series of drums 82 or to a single drum having sections of different diameters all of said drums being connected to a vertical shaft 83 suitably journaled in said tower 69. The shaft 83 is rotated by means of a gear 84 in mesh with a pinion 85 splined to a vertical power shaft 86. The shaft 83 together with its pawl 84 and the pinion 85 is movable with the tower, while the shaft 86 is stationary with reference to said tower. To the lower end of said shaft 86 is connected a gear 87 adapted to be driven by a pinion 88 slidablc along the engine shaft 27. The gear 87 has associated with it a brake drum 89 fitted with a strap brake 90. The pinion 88 is shiftable along the shaft by means of a lever 91 pivoted at 92 and held normally out of gear by means of a spring 93. A foot lever 94 at the front end of the machine has connected to it a rod- 95 connected at its other end to` a crank 96 to one endv of arock shaft 97. The other end of the rock shaft has a crank 98 and between the latter crank and the lever 91 is a connecting rod 99 whereby, when the operator applies his foot to the foot piece 94,-the pinion 88 may be thrown into gear for the purpose of rotating the shaft 86 and winding up the guys 80 with a corresponding hoisting of the arms 77. rI`he arms may be retained in elevated position by means of 130 I tions with the brake lever 101.

78 of each arm so the brake 90 controlled by a hand lever 100 having any suitable crank and rod connec- Nozzles 102 are arranged along the bottoms of the arms 7 7 throughout their lengthy and each of the nozzlesis preferably swiveled at 103 to its arm, and the flow of water therethrough may be controlled or shut off by means of a valve 104. v I may also provide a main valve 105 adjacent the elbow as to stop the flow .of water therethrough. If the valve be closed while thev arm is full of Water, the weight of vsuch water will counterbalance the weight of the water in the opposite arm While in operation.

At 106 I show an apron or movable dam which may be carried by the machine for the purpose of controlling the How of Water along the ditch. Said apron is preferably p mounted so as to be carried by the frame l claim as new and propel the same,

11 of the machine. The flow of water in the ditch is to be understood as being in the direction in which the machine is moving, whereby the dam 106 located at any. convenient vpoint will, in casethe flow 'be more rapid than the movement of the machine, serve to .dam up theA water and thereby insure a suiiicient supply for the intake shoe 56.`

Having thus described my invention, I desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an irrigating device, the combination of a main frame, means to support. and a tower, means to support and elevate the tower along the main frame, a plurality of laterally extending distributing arms supported by the tower, means to elevate the outer` ends of the arms, said elevating means including a plurality of drum sections of diierent diameters carried by the tower and guys extending from said sections to different parts of said arms, and means to draw Water from the 'ditch and deliver it to and through said distributing arms. p

2. In aV traveling irrigator, the combina- Copies of this patent may be obtained for travel in the ditch, said shoe having a per-4 forated top, flexible connections between the shoe and the pump, said pump having a vertical discharge pipe, a vertical delivery pipe telescopically connected to said discharge pipe and having at its upper end a horizontal longitudinally extending T- head, a pair of laterally extending distributing arms swiveled on the same axis to the opposite ends of said head, and means to swing said arms vertically around the axis of said swivels. i

3. In an irrigating machine, the combination of a traveling frame, power devices carried by said frame, a pump operated by said power devices, ing with said pump,

a plurality of compartments, and a series of flexible connections leading from the several compartments of the shoe into said head.

4. In an irrigating machine of the kind set forth, the `combination of a traction device, a pump carried by said device, means to operate the pump, a telescopic pipe leading upwardly from said pump, a horizontal T- head provided at the upper end 0f said telescopic pipe and having its alined terminals disposed longitudinally of the traction device, a pair of hollow arms having elbows swivcled to the front and rear ends of saidT- head so as to receive water from the telescopic pipe, said arms being-adjustable in spaced parallel vertical planes around the longitudinal axis of said head, and a pressure dome associated with said T-head.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN COOPER SEARLE.

Witnesses: i v

J. K. CLARKE, GEO. MoCoumsroN.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

a head 59 communicata shoe 56 adapted to trail beneath said frame, said shoe having' 

